War For Peace Of The Arrangement
We are already behind another round of fighting last week in the Gaza Strip, in which hundreds of rockets were fired at the State of Israel, half of the country was disabled, and twenty-five terrorists mainly from Islamic Jihad were killed by IDF fire.
The last round opens with the assassination of the terrorist Baha Abu al-Ata - an area commander of the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip who, according to the IDF, was responsible for several missile launches towards Israel in the past year "And another rocket fire on Saturday night, so to speak, of Hamas" rogue".
Alongside the criticism of the deterrence that led to the assassination of a third-degree officer in a small semi-state-backed terrorist organization, right-wing cheers were heard for the "victorious blow" imposed on the Islamic Jihad, the elimination of the rocket launchers finished without Hamas joining the campaign. It is not always pleasant to be in the role of captivating the joys, but it turns out that these joys are due to a lack of understanding of the purpose of the operation in the strategic perspective of its initiators.
We are pleased, and rightly so, to hear of a number of dead terrorists, as if it is restoring the trampled respect of the people of Israel that this government has humiliated. But those who want to be an alternative to the existing establishment need to deepen their understanding of the strategic and broad trends that the IDF leadership has been taking in recent years. The loss of deterrence and the humiliation of national dignity (which is the glory of G-d) will not easily change with the identity of one or the other minister of defense but require a deeper scrutiny.
In recent years, we have already become accustomed to the permanent response to any rocket fire or rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. The same wording accompanied the policy (in speeches, certainly not in acts) in every round of fighting in the Gaza Strip in the last decade, this wording disappeared in the last round. On the contrary, one of the cabinet members stated that one of the targets of the operation was to keep Hamas out of the round. What changed?
The answer is simple: In the security system, the decision was made to come to terms with the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, and to replace the decision in the regulation. And when they do not intend and do not want to overpower the killers, it makes no sense to threaten them with the responsibility, when there are no bullets in the gun.
About two months ago, all media sites featured articles portraying Baha Abu al-Ata as a rogue commander interrupting the Hamas deal. And those who know a little about how the media works, immediately noticed that these were IDF spokesman briefs that marked the mastermind's "problematic factor." The purpose of the last operation was not the decisive conclusion of Hamas terrorist organization, but the exact opposite - the removal of the interfering elements in the series with Hamas.
From the first moment after the killing of Abu al-Ata, the IDF spokesman announced that it was not a return to the policy of counterterrorism, and for long hours the rocket fire from Gaza that disrupted life not only in the Gaza envelope accustomed to life under fire but also in the Gush Dan, was answered quietly by Israel. The rocket fire and the IDF continued to attack, and indeed, relatively in the attempt to strike and eliminate more jihad terrorists than we have become used to in recent years, every effort has been made to keep Hamas out of the picture.
The reason for this is clear, but not enough known or at least insufficiently structured for the public - the strategic plan of the IDF leadership and Netanyahu and its environment is the existence of the series against Hamas, the series that means achieving long-term ceasefire agreements in exchange for easing the Gaza blockade in stages. A maritime port and opening of crossings, all this when Hamas does not give up its desire to destroy the Jews of Eretz Israel, but only rejects it later. After all, five years ago no one dreamed of 'talking' to Hamas, Netanyahu declared the need to overthrow Hamas rule, now the Hamas terrorist organization, which continues to try to carry out murderous attacks in Judea and Samaria became a legitimate cause, with the whole purpose of the operation being to enable the arrangement with him.
Half an anniversary ago, the Oslo agreement was signed, the IDF withdrew from the cities of Judea and Samaria, under illusions that the Palestinians had changed, and ahead of the era of peace, the then Palestinian policemen held light weapons, but the price of blood was expensive. Oslo, when the buses stopped exploding only after the IDF again occupied the city centers. The concept of the arrangement with Hamas could cost a lot more, the months or years it holds will serve to improve the capabilities of the terrorist organizations but will never change their desire to destroy Israel, the problem this time is not about small arms, but missiles, hovercraft, planned sea ports and G-d may guard us Who knows what else. If G-d forbid the arrangement is implemented, it will become clear that the right-wing government's illusion may be even more expensive than the Rabin government's illusion.
Even in the days of Oslo, the illusion did not immediately burst, at least two years passed until the truth began to emerge, but when the Oslo war broke out - the price was expensive. It is important to remember, because here too, the "series" may result in short-term relaxation, according to the terrorists' schedule, but when the "series" breaks out we will need a lot of prayers.
The buds of surrender to Hamas began in an article written by Major General Sami Turgman (Southern Command commander in Operation Protective Edge) in which he argued that in the near future Israel will have to come to terms with the reality that Hamas rules Gaza, and therefore the Gaza Strip must be reinvested through an international mechanism, even if it is strengthened by Hamas. In another article published several months ago in the issue of 'Between the Poles' (in the Dedu Center for Interdisciplinary Military Thinking of the General Staff), the writers called for the Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip for temporary restraint and an effort to thwart Hamas's attempts to export terror to Judea and Samaria.
This concept also comes from outside the military in a "solution to the problem" presented by the Tel Aviv University's National Security Studies Institute, whose former partners were former chiefs of staff - Gantz, Ashkenazi and Ya'alon. The proposal is to accept the Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip and to act to close the Gaza Strip and replace it with international supervision. Not only elements identified with the Blue and White' and the IDF leadership, but also those identified with Netanyahu's policy, such as the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, or former Chief of Staff Ya'akov Amidror, have published articles against collapse of Hamas and an arrangement without prior conclusion.
Anyone who is confused or excited by the current or retired generals can return to the generals' opinion before the Oslo Accords, or pre-deportation of Gush Katif Jews and withdrawal from the Gaza area. But believers in G-d and his teachings are familiar with the Torah written: that any renunciation of part of the land of Israel will cost us a bloody price. It is precisely these days that things can be seen with tangible eyes, how anyone who does not want to conquer Gaza is mistaken for the imagination and illusions of the arrangements in the face of Hamas terrorists, a growing terrorist organization that does not for a moment give up its desire to destroy us.
Understanding things is important, but its purpose is not only to expose the problems and highlight the bad, but to help understand what is the way of repair. It turns out that this issue is truly 'no right and no left' - without faith in Hashem there's no ability to act with confidence against the bitter enemy closing on us. In the right and left they are trying to push the end when everyone knows what the price will be at the end. A real security change, facing our enemies in general and Gaza in particular, depends not only on the firepower and some dead terrorists (not that it doesn't matter), and also does not depend on the identity of one or other defense minister, wearing a kippa or with a revealed head. A change in policy vis-à-vis Gaza requires strategic change, and a willingness to overwhelm Gaza to the end.
Meir Ettinger - The Jewish Voice
